Saturday Morning Science

Grab a cup of coffee and join us for Saturday Morning Science

Saturday Morning Science is a series of one-hour long talks on various scientific topics. No science background is required, only enthusiasm for and an interest in science. The talks are free and open to the public. If you want to know a bit more about science or if you are simply curious, come join us on Saturday morning.

If you missed a previous Saturday Morning Science, many recent talks can be found on our YouTube Channel

“How citizen scientists helped to observe temperature variations in Mid-Missouri during the total solar eclipse of 2017“

On August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse occurred across North America. In Central Missouri the period of totality was one of the longest observed, at more than two and a half minutes, and occurred very close to local noon. For these reasons the temperature drop associated with the eclipse was expected to be very large and we set out to observe this. About 40 volunteers were identified in Boone and the surrounding counties using 4H. Along with other contacts, including local schools, more than 50 low-cost temperature probes were distributed throughout the Mid-Missouri area. This talk will describe what those temperature probes recorded and how having access to an extensive network of observers helped map the changes seen during the eclipse, as well as some other interesting meteorological effects.

One way we can gain insight into the behavior of cats is through their evolutionary history. The answer to the question of how the wild cat became domesticated or not depends on your perspective. While dogs are estimated to have been domesticated from the wolf approximately 30,000 years ago the fossil evidence suggests cats to be in the range of 4,000 to 9,000 years ago. This great difference fits our observations of their respective behaviors. Thinking of domestication as an evolutionary process which occurs via “artificial” selection by human intervention we will explore the clues left behind in the cat genome.

Robert Logie
Professor of Human Cognitive Neuroscience
University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

“What happens when scientists who disagree work together? The case of human memory”

How does memory work? How and when does memory not work, and why? How you might improve memory, and why is forgetting a very good thing (but letting your smartphone do your thinking for you is a bad idea)? Dr. Logie will discuss these questions and show how exciting new ideas about memory can arise from working with scientists in Columbia, MO, and in Switzerland who disagree with him and with one another about how human memory works.

New technologies are letting scientists understand how the skulls of living and extinct animals work. Come learn how birds, crocodiles and dinosaurs use muscles, cartilages and specialized joints to bite hard, crack nuts and occasionally eat lawyers.

Ms. Teitel will discuss her upcoming book on the ‘Mercury 13’, the first group of women trained for a space mission. She is also the author of “Breaking the Chains of Gravity: The Story of Spaceflight Before NASA” and other works.

Visit to Mizzou is supported by the MU Canadian Studies Center and the Canadian Consulate in Chicago

Mark-recapture is a way for ecologists to estimate the population size for animals when they can’t count them directly. Think fish in a murky pond. Crickets are a popular subject for classroom mark-recapture experiments, in part because their jumping powers are a dependable source of limited and salutary chaos in the classroom. With the results of an MU cricket mark-recapture lab as background, we’ll launch a non-technical audience debate about some very controversial issues of science reasoning. We’re depending on input (output?) from opinionated people, so don’t be bashful!

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is ubiquitous these days. AlphaGo Zero, self-driving vehicles, and FDA-approved AI software tell us that AI is coming to our daily life. In this Saturday Morning Science event, there are five AI experts from Mizzou to share their experiences on AI from history, technologies, applications, to social impacts. An expert panel will interact with the audience about AI and exchange thoughts about the future of AI.

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When and Where

Saturday’s at 10:30 a.m.Monsanto AuditoriumBond Life Sciences Center

Free weekend parking is available in University Avenue Parking Structure, Virginia Avenue Parking Structure and the Virginia Avenue Garage Surface Lot. For directions to the Bond Life Sciences Center, visit: bit.ly/LSCParking